The Christmas Story
by 3VAD127
Summary: AU. A festive holiday tale woven for the modern Avatard. This story includes adventure, romance, drama, and many characters from the original nativity scene - Katara as Mary, Sokka as a shepherd, Iroh as a wise man, and the rest of the Gaang too. Enjoy!


**Disclaimer:** Yupperoni. Still don't own _Avatar_. An author can dream, though. :P

**Author's Notes:** Whoo-hoo! So I know I've been posting a lot of crap lately, but that's because it's the holidays! I just love Christmas, and I love writing Christmas presents even more. :D I hope you all enjoy this super-awesome holiday special. It only comes once a year, you know.

Uh, don't be freaked out. And if you guys have never heard of the original Christmas story, then I'll just explain the cast of characters for you. Katara as Mary; Aang as Joseph; Sokka, Pakku, and Hakoda as the shepherds; Yue as the angel; Toph and Suki as the innkeepers; Zuko, Mai, Iroh, Piandao, and others as the kings from the East (and their entourage); and Lord Ozai as King Herod. Mwah! Enjoy.

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The Christmas Story

Katara hummed as she did her work. Her father, brother, and grandfather were all working in the fields today. Passover was quickly approaching, and the lambs to be sacrificed had to be taken care of properly. No one in her homeland would want a blemished sacrifice for their family's sins. Her grandmother had sent her down to the well to draw some water for laundry; she was lucky that not many other women were here at this time of day.

The young girl quickly drew the water and placed the pot on her shoulder, resting for a moment beneath a scraggly desert joshua tree. The sun was making its way downward across the horizon; she needed to hurry home if she and her grandmother were to have enough daylight to do the wash.

Katara had only paused for a moment when she heard something strange. A soft whisper, like someone speaking over her shoulder, blew across the dusty ground like a desert wind and nearly frightened her. Then, right in front of where she was standing, a tiny tendril of light appeared from nowhere. The girl felt her heart hammering in her chest fifty miles an hour. She fell back against the tree as the soft whisper of light twisted, twirled, and became bigger. Suddenly, the ray erupted into a shining being.

Katara gasped. She was beautiful! The being's hair was pure white, and her clothes shone like they were woven from the rays of the sun.

The ethereal spirit smiled kindly. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and smooth like satin. "Don't be afraid, dear girl. You've been chosen for something very special."

Katara breathed in quickly. Never in her fourteen years had she seen a being like this! "What do you want from me?" she managed to stammer.

"Nothing." The angel's blue eyes were full of sympathy. "But you've been chosen by God to carry His Son. This very day, you are carrying the child of God."

Katara's heart jumped into her throat. "B—But… I hardly think I'm worthy for the job. And I've never been with a man… like _that_. What am I supposed to say to my family?"

The angel looked sad at the doubt in Katara's face. "Katara, you are very wise and very kind for only being fourteen years old. God doesn't give anyone more than they can bear. I _know_ you can do this." She smiled sincerely. "As for your family, that is for you to decide. The only thing I can tell you is that even though they may seem angry to begin with, they are your _family_, and they will always love you." With that last word, the angel began to fade away.

"Wait!" Katara called to her. "What's your name?"

"I am Yue," the angel replied. "And I, as well as your Lord, will always be here if you need me." And with that, the beautiful woman disappeared in a soft fluttering of light.

Katara blinked, then picked her jarful of water back up. "Oh great…" She sighed, placing a shaking hand over her belly. "Dad's going to kill me." And then she paused, her pretty face screwing up in horror. "_Sokka's_ going to kill me. Oh… not good." And with a heavy heart and a trembling spirit, the young girl made her way back home.

--

When she got home, there was a strange boy about her age standing in the main room; he had unusually light skin for the area and stormy gray eyes that sparkled in a funny way. She frowned, placing her jug of water by the door. Her father was there, too, and by the looks of things, the two had just emerged from a serious conversation. "…Dad?" she inquired softly. Her father _never_ came home before twilight. Many times, he, her brother, and grandfather would sleep out in the fields with the sheep; why was he home so early?

"Katara." He smiled like he was surprised to see her. Then he placed a dark brown, weathered hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is Aang. He told me he's had his eye on you for a while now, and that he wants to marry you." Aang tried to smile as he waved at the dark-haired girl.

Katara felt her throat constricting as righteous anger welled up in her chest. "Why didn't you tell me?" she muttered angrily.

"Katara, sweetheart, your brother and I have been so busy. Not to mention Aang just asked me today." Hakoda smiled happily, like an arranged marriage between the two was the greatest thing to happen to the family in a long while.

"But I'm the one getting married!" Katara cried. "Why didn't you tell me about him? About… _this_?" She really didn't know what to call it. "I can't marry him. I've never met him, and I don't love him!"

Hakoda's brow furrowed as the boy's face fell. "Katara! That's enough. He's a very kind man just about your age, too; he's extremely honorable and has a good, solid job as a carpenter. You should be very happy, Katara. Not many other girls your age are nearly as lucky."

If it had been any other day, maybe she could've handled it. But between what the angel Yue had told her earlier—that she was PREGNANT, of all things—and now this bombshell that she was getting MARRIED, the poor girl felt like she was going to break. Oh, if only her mother were here to help her—!

Angry, frustrated, and confused, Katara ran from the room into her family's sleeping quarters. She collapsed on the soft pallet in the corner and covered her face as the tears began to flow. It just felt like it was too much for her to bear anymore.

She suddenly felt a soft hand stroking her back. "Katara…" Hakoda's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "My daughter, I'm sorry that this was so sudden. But there was really no other way for me to do it. Please forgive me."

The girl wiped the tears from her eyes. She _was_ lucky. Many fathers in her day would rather beat their daughters than ask her forgiveness. She threw her slim arms around his neck and buried her tear-stained face in his scratchy cloak. "_I'm_ sorry, Father," she whispered. "I didn't mean to act so out of hand. It's just… it surprised me so much. I will marry him, but that doesn't mean I love him."

Hakoda stroked her luscious, dark brown curls. "I know, dearest. I know. Your mother said the same thing."

--

Prince Zuko strolled into his uncle's massive library carrying a pair of heavy, dusty tomes. An old man was positioned in front of a large, ornately carved wooden desk; he appeared to be all wrapped up in reading the star charts. Zuko let the books fall heavily to the desk.

"Nephew!" Iroh gasped, startled. "Carefully. Those books are ancient."

Zuko coughed and brushed some imaginary dust off of his flowing, gold-trimmed robes. "Yeah, I can tell. Ugh."

"Can you believe this? Come here." Zuko brushed aside some dust and followed his uncle's finger. "This… this is amazing. A fascinating occurrence that only comes around once every nine hundred years."

Zuko stood up and examined the globe on the desk, all full of strange patterns and dotted lines that meant nothing. "What are you talking about, Uncle?" He tried to sound uninterested.

Iroh looked up. "What I mean is this, Nephew—in a little under nine months, four planets will align and will create something unseen to human eyes in centuries."

The younger scratched his chin. "So, you mean that when these planets come together, they'll form some sort of… super-bright object in the sky?"

"A star, actually," his uncle corrected. "A super-star."

--

Approximately eight months later found Katara riding on the back of a ragged cart back to her hometown. She was on her way home after visiting her cousin Elizabeth. The girl had taken the excuse to visit her after she learned of her cousin's own pregnancy, which was a miracle in itself, considering Elizabeth was, supposedly, past the age of carrying children.

Katara had told her cousin of her pregnancy, and it seemed like she was the only one who understood her predicament. She hadn't yet told her family about it; what would they say? How would they react? At the moment, she was so scared and more concerned that they might want to kick her out. And now that Katara had learned she was supposed to be _married_… everyone would think she had been having an affair with another man. Her engaged husband would have all the rights in the world to… to kill her immediately because of her infidelity.

The fourteen-year-old ran a trembling hand over her obviously protruding stomach. On the ride in, she had pretended to ignore the stares and whispers from the outer townsfolk; but when she overheard them calling her names… those were hard to ignore.

The cart jerked to a halt outside of her home, and she made her way inside. Only her grandmother and Aang were inside.

But when Gran-Gran caught sight of her, her weathered face turned surprised. She gasped, "Katara—!"

Aang stood up suddenly as his dark gray eyes flashed with anger and sadness. "Katara… what's this all about?"

The girl felt her heart drop into her stomach. "I can explain—"

"There is nothing to explain!" her grandmother exclaimed. "You have been unfaithful to your betrothed!"

"No, I haven't, Gran-Gran!" she pleaded. "I've never been with a man before! But an angel of God came to me one day, and she told me that I was going to have a baby."

She couldn't help but feel extremely guilty when Aang's face melted from confusion into pure sadness and depression. He sighed and sat down heavily in one of the only wooden chairs in the room. "I don't know what you expect me to do, Katara," he pleaded. "I'm just a kid too, you know. How are we supposed to get through this?"

Katara hung her head, her darkened curls falling over her bright blue eyes. "By all rights of the law… you are allowed to—to kill me."

"What?" Aang stood up quickly and was by her side in an instant. "Maybe so, but I could never imagine killing another human being, especially one as pretty as you." She flushed as he grabbed her hand. "OK… I'll just… I have an idea. Maybe if I just divorce you right now, you can be free, and no one will ever know that we were engaged. That way, no one has to figure out that you were 'unfaithful.'"

"But I wasn't!"

Aang hushed her. "No, I know. But when you go out into town looking like this, no one else in this city will believe you. They will all figure you had an affair, and they'll try to stone you, of all things."

Katara sighed. "All right, Aang. Whatever you think is right."

Gran-Gran shook her old gray head. "Just wait until your father gets home to hear about this…"

"I don't know about you, Gran-Gran, but I'm more worried about my brother hearing about this." Katara sighed. "What a disaster…"

--

"Hmm…" Aang sighed and threw the parchment back down onto the table. "I can't believe this!"

"Can't believe what?" Katara entered the room and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Caesar is calling for a tax. Again. He's also saying that all eligible men have to return to their homelands and pay their taxes there."

Katara shrugged. "So? I don't see the problem."

"Well…" Aang ran a hand through his dark, close-cropped hair. "My homeland is a long way from here; I was born in Bethlehem, actually. It will take us at _least_ a month's worth of traveling to arrive there. Not to mention I'll have to take you."

"So? I'll be fine."

"No, I know you can handle yourself," Aang smiled at her. "It's just the baby I'm worried about."

"Oh." Katara subconsciously slid her dark fingers across her tummy. "Well, I became pregnant through God's grace, and hopefully, He won't make this baby come sooner than it's supposed to."

--

Iroh and his companion Piandao were both gathered around the large desk once again, comparing charts, maps, facts, and statistics. Zuko entered the large library with his girlfriend Mai on his arm. "Uncle, what are you doing?"

"I'm comparing," he said, "with my friend. You remember Piandao, I'm sure. He is a fellow wise man and advisor to the king." Prince Zuko nodded to him as he and Mai joined the conglomeration around the desk. "We were preparing for a journey, actually, to see this star when it arrives," Iroh explained, stroking his well-kept beard. "My brother is actually king of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the surrounding area in Judea. Perhaps it is time we pay him a little visit."

Zuko's golden eyes lowered. He wasn't quite sure how much he wanted to see King Ozai; last time he figured, his father's intentions for him and his family were less than ideal.

--

Katara and Aang's journey had taken nearly a month, but finally, after many days and hard nights of traveling, they had arrived in Bethlehem. As Aang led the travel-weary donkey through the dirt streets, he didn't see a single soul outside. He tried knocking on a few inns for them to stay the night, but all of them were filled up, no thanks to this stupid census of Caesar Augustus'. Aang's dark gray eyes were apologetic as he looked at Katara, who was riding on his animal. Her blue eyes reflected some pain, but she continued to say, "I can handle it."

Desperate, Aang knocked on the door of a scraggly inn at the edge of town; two women answered his call. One of them was a tall, pale, beautiful redhead with sparkling blue eyes but dirty streaks across her body. The other was a well-kept but somehow still scraggly-haired short girl with a rather unhealthy coating of dust all about her bare feet and ragged outer cloak. Aang sighed.

"Excuse me, but is there any room here for me and my wife to stay? She's kinda pregnant, and I'm afraid that she'll have her baby any time now."

"Oh, the poor girl," the older one sighed. "But I'm afraid we don't have any room here. I'm Suki, the innkeeper, and this is my friend Toph."

"We might not have any room inside," the girl Toph said, "but we have a barn out back. You can keep your mule there, and there's plenty of room for a few extra boarders."

Suki shrugged. "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything better."

Aang looked helplessly to his betrothed Katara, but she looked relieved. "Yes, that's perfect," she said.

The "barn" was nothing more than a cave naturally carved from the side of a solid rock wall. A few wooden pilings were set up as barriers, and hay had been spread across the floor to keep the animals warm against the chilly desert night. Katara looked relieved as Aang helped her lie down in a pile of hay. "It's a little itchy," she said, "but I've never felt anything better."

Aang smiled contentedly. "It will do."

Suddenly, Katara's face screwed up in pain. She grabbed onto Aang's hand and squeezed tightly. "Aang… this baby's coming. Now."

--

Sokka sighed as he lay back against the tall grass. He, his father, and his grandfather had been herding sheep all the way from his hometown out to Bethlehem for the past few months or so. The work was hot, tiresome, and completely without benefit, but hey. It was his kind of work. He absolutely loved being a shepherd. Wherever he led, the sheep would follow. Yes, his clothes were scratchy, and his cloak was sometimes too thin for the chilly desert nights, but he couldn't imagine it any other way.

He was resting among the sheep when he suddenly heard something strange—a woman's voice softly swept across the dried desert grass like a wind across the sea. Sokka sat up, blue eyes filled with confusion, as he patted the fluffy sheep next to him. "You stay here, Mr. Sheep," he said. "I'm going to check this out."

His father Hakoda and Pakku were gathered around a small fire for warmth, sleeping soundly. He gently shook them awake. "Dad, Grampa, I heard something weird."

Hakoda rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Well, what—"

Right before their eyes, a small tendril of light appeared. It whisked around, growing and twirling, before exploding into a bright outline of an ethereal being. "Don't be afraid," a softly female voice said, "for I am here to tell you something amazing."

Sokka rubbed his blue eyes. He couldn't believe what he was seeing! The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "I'm Yue," the angel continued, "and I'm here to tell you about a fantastic happening that will be occurring tonight. This very night, right under your noses in the city of Bethlehem, a birth will be taking place. The birth of the Savior of the world."

Hakoda and Pakku sat further back, practically scared out of their wits. Sokka gulped before he said, "Y-Yue… how will we know how to find this baby?"

"It's not hard." She smiled a lovely smile at him. "Just follow the star." Yue turned and pointed a wispy, transparent finger toward a brightly-shining object in the sky. "It will be sure to guide you." And when the shepherds turned back to the angel, there were suddenly thousands of other shining beings. They flooded the entire night sky with their spiritual glow and inhuman features. And suddenly, they were all singing in unison.

They were glorifying their God, and declaring peace on earth, and goodwill for men of all kinds—Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans alike. Sokka sat back in awe. Never in his boring fifteen years of existence had he EVER experienced something as magnificent as this.

--

Iroh, Zuko, Piandao, and Mai all bowed before King Ozai's throne. Their hundreds of servants, camels, and aides stood waiting outside the palace, awaiting the kings' return and their message to go. Iroh said, "Brother. It has been a while. Have you heard about the star over Bethlehem?"

Ozai stroked his dark hair. "Yes, I have, Iroh," he said in an unamused tone. "I've also heard rumors about a baby being born there. That he's supposed to be the 'savior of the world' or something." Ozai steepled his fingers. "Is this true?"

Iroh straightened up as Zuko said, "I've heard the same thing, Father, but I'm not quite sure if the rumors are accurate. If you wish, we could travel to Bethlehem and see for you."

King Ozai nodded. "Yes, I would like that. Go, find the child, and tell me where he is so I can worship him, too."

The four bowed and left the king's presence. Once they were outside, Piandao spoke. "No offense to your father, Prince Zuko, but I seriously doubt that he wants to worship this new little king. If anything, he would want to kill him and eliminate the competition."

Iroh nodded in agreement as he boarded his camel. "I feel the same, Piandao," he said. "My brother has never thought of anyone but himself. I think we'll go see the child… but let's all agree that Ozai shall never hear of the baby's real location."

They all agreed and rode toward the high desert dunes. They were a strange sight to see: hundreds of men and camels forming a snaking line across the uninhabited dunes. But the further they rode, and the more they followed the bright star shining over Bethlehem, the closer they got to their predestined location.

--

Sokka was nearly out of breath by the time he, Hakoda, and Pakku had reached the middle of Bethlehem. "I think… I think it's over this way," he said, pointing to a little inn on the outskirts of town. He knocked on the wooden door, barely catching his breath before a gorgeous redhead and a short little black-haired girl answered the door. "Excuse me, but do you have a barn or something?"

"Yes. Follow me." The two innkeepers ushered the three shepherds out back to where the animals were staying for the night. When Sokka arrived, he was surprised to see Katara and Aang there; his sister was resting in a scratchy pile of hay, a scrawny newborn wrapped up in her arms.

"K-Kat," he stuttered, "what are you doing here? Is… is that the baby the angel told us about?"

Katara nodded, her bright blue eyes shining happily. "Yes," she said, "he is."

Sokka laid his shepherding staff on the dirt floor and plopped down confusedly beside his sister. "Well, I'll be darned…" he declared. Hakoda and Pakku were right behind him.

"I second that," Hakoda muttered, brushing the hair from his little girl's eyes. The two female innkeepers, Suki and Toph, stood in the background, pretty unsure of what to do.

"Hey," Suki said, noticing something off in the distance. "It looks like Bethlehem's got some visitors. A lot of them, actually, and they're all riding on camels."

Aang left Katara's side only for a moment to go see what Suki was fussing about. "Wow… you're right. There's a lot of them, too…"

It took nearly twenty minutes for the entire entourage to arrive. The innkeepers, shepherds, and Aang the carpenter were all surprised and amazed to see such wealthy people arriving at such a lowly place. "What are you doing here?" Aang asked one of the kings, a portly but kind-looking man with a well-trimmed beard and richly flowing robes.

"We're here to see the new king," the old man declared. "Is he here?"

Aang nodded. "Yes. Please, come in, if you wish."

Iroh dismounted but gestured for all of his followers to simply wait outside with the camels. He held a heavy, ornate box under his arm as a smile graced his weathered lips. "Never in my lifetime has something like this ever happened."

After him came three other kings, all carrying their own gifts—Prince Zuko, Lady Mai, and Master Piandao. Iroh presented his gift to Katara while she nodded happily. The old man placed his small chest on the hay. "It's gold," he said, pulling back the lid to reveal a shining pile of golden coins inside. "Gold for a king." Katara and Sokka both gaped in amazement. Aang smiled stupidly.

Zuko and Mai came up to present their gift. "Frankincense, commonly used as aromatherapy to worship gods and kings," Zuko explained softly. His golden eyes shifted toward Mai as they both backed away and smiled.

Finally, it was Piandao's turn to present his… well, present to Katara. "It's myrrh," he said, cocking an eyebrow. "It's representative of the balm you will use when He dies to take away the sins of the world."

Tears began streaming down Katara's dark brown face. Sokka the shepherd smiled calmly and nudged her in the arm. The kings and their entourage, the bleating, stinky animals, the kind innkeepers, and, of course, her beloved fiancé—Katara couldn't imagine a happier life.

No, it was far from being perfect—could you imagine trying to raise the Savior of the world?—but it was _her_ new life. And that was perfect enough for her.

"Hey there, little baby," Sokka said, touching the tiny youngster's soft head of hair. "Welcome to the world! You and your Uncle Sokka are bound to have some great times together—"

"Sokka," Katara moaned. "Please, not now. I can't bear the thought of _you_ being the uncle to my child." Aang came up behind Sokka and joined him by his wife's side. "I just had a baby; I don't need any more stress today, all right?" Sokka frowned as soft laughter erupted from across the barn.

"Well, this is going to be fun."

Hakoda squeezed his daughter's hand. "Just wait until He's a teenager," he joked.

"Oh Lord…" Katara leaned back in the hay, absolutely spent. "This has been one heck of a night." The four kings sat together, smiling.

"Agreed," Iroh said.

Sokka stroked his nonexistent beard. "This should become a national holiday or something…"

Toph the innkeeper finally emerged from the background. "Yeah right!" she scoffed. "Like _that_ would ever happen."

Ha. If only they knew.

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**Post Author's Notes: **A few things I need to point out. Most, if not all, of these things are historically accurate EXCEPT for the three wise men. There weren't only three; there were probably a lot more than that, and I tried to include that in the story. But they didn't arrive exactly when Jesus was born. They probably showed up at Mary's house when Jesus was about two or three or so. (Think about it, people, it would've taken a _really_ long time for them to travel that far!)

Um, another thing is Mary's (Katara's) cousin Elizabeth. I can't remember if she had John before or during the same time as Jesus… so forgive me if that's a little off too. :P

(sigh) So yes. But I stuck to the original nativity scene, just in the spirit of the holidays. :P Hope you enjoyed! Now review, please. I know it was a little long, but still… Merry Christmas?

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